Why Men Fight

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:1-3

Fights and quarrels come from the sense of injustice that says, “you owe me.” It could be as simple as someone cutting in front of you in traffic or a little more personal circumstance such as getting passed up for a promotion at work. Men get angry when they don’t get what they want. And when that desire is fueled, it has to act. Just think about the last time you were upset and ask why. Knowing why this phenomenon occurs is crucial to remedying it when it shows up.

In one of my first jobs, I ran an expensive piece of machinery. The owner told me that I had to understand it completely so that when it broke (notice how I didn’t say “if”), I would know how to correct it. If you know how something works, you can fix it when it breaks.

The best way to course correct is to understand the difference between what is wanted and what is deserved. Consider how many times you didn’t get what you deserved. Think of how you’d prefer the grace of another in a situation when you were wronged. God laid on Jesus what we deserved. Take your wants and desires, evaluate them in a different light. Make them listen to the truth of God’s Word.

DO THIS TODAY: When you start to get angry ask God to reveal His truth to your heart.